


You've Always Been My Home

by Shamen610



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-05-15 05:34:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19289185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shamen610/pseuds/Shamen610
Summary: And that was just so like Tony wasn't it? For him to still be the one to help Steve find a home, despite being gone.Gone.God, he couldn't even stomach the thought of it being true.





	You've Always Been My Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [softestlesbian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/softestlesbian/gifts).



> I really hope this was somewhere along the lines of what you wanted! 
> 
> Also a special thanks to Daphne! Thank you so much Daphne for all your help in making sure this fic was ready to go!

It isn't until after he's returned the infinity stones and is back to the present that Steve finally has the chance to deal with everything that has happened.

For so long he had operated on the basis of the next mission, the next life to save. The next, the next, the next.

Now that he's returned, he finds himself at a loss.

Where does he go from here?

He has to report that he's completed the mission; the procedure is ingrained in his entire being.

Finish the mission, report it, and on to the next.

But he's back, and he's reported that the stones have been successfully returned, and now there's nothing left. No new world to go explore and get acquainted with, no new recruits to train, no Bucky to find and save now that he was back to his old self; well as much as he could be. But Bucky had Sam now, who for some reason had formed a grudging alliance with his best friend. And to be honest, Sam was much better equipped to deal with the sort of trauma that Bucky would need help with.

No, there was simply nothing left for him to do. 

And now that he’d returned the damn stones, all Steve could think of was all that he - that they had lost. And wasn't that something? No matter how far Steve had thought he'd come, it always came back to those people that he had outlived, had left behind.

Steve thought he had finally come to learn to accept the loss of the people he had left behind. And really for the most part he had: he now accepted Peggy and the Howling Commandos as a part of his past. The lives they had lived without him were good ones, he had come to realize that and find comfort in it. But, Tony and Nat? God, that was too new. Too fresh... Too much.

Nat was someone who had been with Steve during his toughest times. She was right there with him after Ultron, even when everyone else had left. She was the one who knew him best when it came to the toughest calls; how he would never back down once he had made up his mind. 

Looking back, he wished he had taken up her advice and gotten a life, just so that he may not have become so damn stubborn.

Steve now sat at his old bed in the Avengers Compound contemplating all that he had lost. It had been partially destroyed during the fight with past Thanos, but the housing quarters had remained fairly intact. Pepper had vowed to get it rebuilt in Tony's honour, saying that it was what Tony would have wanted. For the Avengers to always have a home to come back to.

And that was just so like Tony wasn't it? For him to still be the one to help Steve find a home, despite being gone.

Gone.

God, he couldn't even stomach the thought of it being true.

It wasn't fair. That he was still here and those that had only just started to live their lives, wouldn't even be able to live them to their fullest.

So many impossible things have happened in his life, but it seemed that no matter what, he was doomed to be forever mourning his past.

Steve sat on his bed in contemplative silence and mourning, when an odd thought occurred to him. Something that he hadn’t even questioned but now found himself pondering over. It was a long shot but it was worth talking over. With a decision made, he got up and went to see the one person left he could share this idea with.

. . .

"So you're telling me, you want to go back to the past and use the time stone to save Nat and Tony?" Bruce spoke in between bites of his egg, while seated at their local diner. The disbelief was apparent on his face.

It was easy tracking the man down, as he often hung out in the same places day in and out. Steve knew that it was the semblance of normalcy Bruce had craved for all these years that drove him to do so. 

"Essentially, yes." Steve said. Desperation and contempt fueled his next words. "Look, I was going over the battle and what I could have done differently so that none of this would have happened and -"

"Steve," Bruce cut in. "This wasn't all on you, we lost together."

"Not the first time around." He tried to state plainly, but a little bit of resentment might have shone through, if Bruce's furrowed brow was to be believed.

"But look, that's what I was looking over. In the first battle, you recall how Wanda had destroyed vision?" Steve got out. He needed to get Bruce’s attention before he turned the whole conversation into making sure Steve didn’t blame himself. This wasn’t about that. 

"Yeah, and then Thanos brought him back to - ” Bruce started off nonchalantly, and then as if he had come to the same line of thought Steve had “ - no. You can't possibly - you think?"

"Yes, well, I believe it’s worth a shot.” Steve stated. But then he looked at the flicker of doubt that had come across Bruce’s face, Steve leaned over the table and placed a hand on Bruce’s arm. “We owe it to them to try, Bruce." 

"But Steve, you know that anything we do to the past won't change our future. It'll just create an alternate timeline where they never died."

"Not exactly. What I'm suggesting isn't to change our future but our present." Bruce scratched at the stubble on his cheek, he appeared not to understand what Steve was saying. 

"I'm not following."

"When Thanos, used the time stone, to bring back Vision, time didn't go back for us, it only affected Vision. I don't know how just yet but -"

"He must have suspended the reality around Vision at a singular point, and then altered the time only within Vision's body." Bruce had excitedly cut in, seeming to now grasp what Steve had only just begun to understand.

"Steve, that, that might just work. We might be able to bring them to life but what then?"

Steve sighed in relief, it was a long shot when the thought had initially occurred to him: he didn’t actually know if it was possible to bring them back. But if Bruce thought that it was then that opened a realm of possibilities. "Well, since we can't change the past, why can't we just bring them here to our present?"

"But bringing them back here would still affect that timeline and create a divergence." Bruce started with a contemplative look. "However, it may be possible for extraction if it seemed as if there was no extraction in the first place."

"Ok, now I'm not following." He sent Bruce a look of confusion. Steve had a feeling that he was getting way in over his head.

Bruce nodded in understanding, and gave a pat on the top of his head for good measure. Steve resisted the urge to check on his hair. He hadn’t really managed to get used to Hulk as Bruce over the years. "Well, there's someone else we'll have to talk to, to see if it's even possible, and they'll probably be able to explain it better than I can." 

Bruce got up from the table then, and made sure to leave a hefty tip plus the cost of the food at the table - Bruce was doing well these days now that he could safely stay in one place long enough to hold a job - and Steve got up to follow him. He made a mental note to find some time later to pay Bruce back. Right now they had someone to meet.

"Who?"

"Strange."  
. . .

"I'm sorry, but I can not help you. It's a matter of impartiality. We have a code to uphold." Strange, or Dr. Strange as the man introduced himself as, said to them after Bruce's explanation.

Steve wasn’t too familiar with the man, but judging from they way he dressed and held himself, he could tell that he was quite the proud character. 

"Fuck your code." Bruce clenched his fists as he spoke. "Natasha and Tony sacrificed their lives for us, if there's a chance that they can be saved, we owe it to them to try." Echoing the words Steve had said earlier.

Strange however, still seemed to need more convincing, so Bruce had tried a different approach. "Strange, I know you don't know us very well, but you did fight Thanos up there with Tony. Surely you must have seen the type of man he was. The world's not ready to be without Tony Stark."

The words struck Steve, he couldn't speak for the rest of the world like Bruce, but he could speak for himself, and he could say without a shadow of doubt, that he definitely was not ready for a world without Tony Stark.

The words seemed to affect Strange as well, which piqued Steve’s interest. He wasn’t aware that this man knew Tony well enough to garner such a reaction. "For the few moments that I knew Stark, he was full of himself and an arrogant prick. However, that was only on the surface..." He trailed off, perhaps in thought his past encounters with Tony, when they were up in space. Steve swallowed around that odd feeling that always showed up whenever he thought about Tony up there in space without him.

"He was a good man, and he cared about making sure everyone was safe. I can't speak for your other teammate, I'm sure she too did a lot of good for the world, but going back in time to prevent their deaths will only create further chaos."

Steve spoke up then, "Only we don't want to prevent their deaths, just reverse the effects death had on their bodies."

Strange finally looked at him then and paused a moment to take him in. His eyes gave him a once over before he dismissed him and looked back over towards Bruce. The action had caused Steve to prickle up and he found himself drawing up to stand at his full height. 

Bruce might have sensed the odd tension, for he quickly jumped in to elaborate on Steve’s remark. 

"We came to you, to figure out how to use the stone to isolate the effect of the time reversal, to concentrate a singularity of time on the body, without affecting the present reality." And for good measure Bruce added, "Since, you know, you are the current expert on all things magical."

The flattery, or slight mockery depending on the way you took it, seemed to work, as Strange contemplated the possibility.

"I'm not saying anything definitive but it could be a prospect, yes. But you would need both the time and reality stone for it to even remotely have a chance of working. Reversing time on small objects is a lot simpler than reversing death, the reality stone would be needed as a stabilizing agent..." He broke off then, seemed to realize - probably at the huge smile on Bruce's face - that he had pretty much confirmed he would be willing to give it a try.

Resigned to his fate, Strange gave a sigh, and breathed out, "I'm going to regret this."

Steve had found himself smiling then too, it looked like they were on for a second time heist.

. . .

"I am not going back to take the Aether out of Jane again. Putting it back in was awkward enough."

The assembled team before Steve had all turned to look at him then, giving him looks that varied from confusion and empathy to snarky amusement. The later had come from Clint, who Bruce had contacted earlier when they received confirmation of the plan. Clint, upon hearing that they had come across a chance to save Nat, had immediately dropped everything and showed up a half hour later at the compound insisting that he was to be going along with them.

Steve who had felt the same guilt that Clint was, didn't bother to convince him otherwise. Bruce had given it a shot, talking about how his family needed him, and not to worry, they would come back with Nat in tow, but Clint stayed put.

They had formed two teams for the infinity stone retrieval. Bruce and the Doctor were being sent back to 2012, to ask the Ancient One for the time stone - again. Steve did not envy them in their task.

His team consisted of himself and Clint, where they had to go back and retrieve the reality Stone from Jane - again. On second thought, Steve did envy Bruce, he clearly had the easier task.

"So, we're supposed to go and suck this stone outta Thor's Ex, right after the past you leaves after inserting it back into her?" Clint reiterated, and seemed skeptical as he talked.

"Yes."

"Why can't we just take the stone from past you, when you come back to return it?" Clint clearly did not understand the need to involve Jane a second time, and Steve who still remembered his last encounter with Jane, found himself shuddering and feeling the same. 

“We want to avoid messing up the timelines. Interacting with past Steve will be a greater divergence then popping in and out for a brief moment in the past." Bruce answered, in a manner that depicted a man whom had become used to repeating himself. He was setting up the time portal, going over any last minute calculations.

Clint raised a brow and made a face of obvious disbelief, but relented. "Sounds sus but, whatever you say Jolly Green."

Steve disregarded their conversation and stepped up onto the platform; looking around to the people in the room. He stated the plan. "We go back, retrieve the stones, and then jump to the specified time at Volmir."

Once he received affirmations from the group, he indicated towards Bruce, and they promptly left.

. . .

 

"That poor lady," Clint said, just as they had arrived at Vormir, "I am not looking forward to putting that Stone back into her."

Steve made no remark that he shared the sentiment. They had bigger things to focus on now.

They made their way over to the top of the cliff. Past Clint had just left the scene, and they stepped up to look down over the cliff.

It was hard. Seeing Nat there, Bruce had to look away. Clint just stared, stone faced. Steve could feel the burn of his eyes, and turned to look at Strange. Strange looked back, a flash of understanding appeared across his face.

"I will need the reality stone now, please step back and I will begin the isolation process."

Steve handed him the stone, and the rest stepped back, while Strange began his magic. They watched as Strange floated down, and knelt next to Nat's broken body. It was even harder to see now, so Steve looked away, and a moment later there was a flash of red light followed by a flash of green.

Steve turned to look then, and was astonished to see Strange and Natasha floating up to join them. They landed, and all was silent for a few seconds. Steve found himself frozen in place. This is what they had come here for, but a little part of him had believed that maybe it was all just wishful thinking on his part. 

Finally, Nat opened her mouth and said, "Well not all at once boys." The dam broke, and all at once they were rushing up to go and hug her.

Clint got there first of course, hugging her tight as if to convince himself she was real. Steve could understand, he was barely believing it himself. It had worked! They really had managed to bring Natasha back. They would be able to bring Tony back too.

There was a weight then that Steve hadn't realized he was carrying with him, that finally lifted upon the thought.

He let Clint and Nat have their moment, he could imagine the relief that Clint was feeling upon seeing Nat alive and well again. He looked over to Strange standing just past them and gave him a nod in thanks.

Clint and Nat were crying now, and Steve stepped up to intervene. "Save some tears for the rest of us."

Nat turned to look at him, and he immediately brought her in for a hug.

"Steve, I.. thank you." Nat whispered into his neck. Steve's arms tightened, before clasping her shoulders and bringing her back up, so he could wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Hey, we're family." He said to her. A look of warmth spread across her face then, and Steve finally felt like everything was going to be all right again. He was going home.

. . .

The last thing Tony remembered was placing his hand atop Pepper's heart as she told him to rest. His head fell to the side and he saw the blurry face of Steve looking at him from afar before his vision faded and he fell into a deep sleep.

Tony didn’t actually believe that there was any sort of life beyond death. There was their short little stint on earth and then nothing, nada, that was it, say goodbye bub. It was the reason why he was always so desperate to make his mark on earth a good one. He needed to make sure he left the earth better than it had been for the people he would leave behind. 

So it was quite surprising when he felt himself slowly come back to awareness, as if rousing from many nights of slumber.

He blinked his eyes, and put a hand up to block the light. Through his fingers he saw a black figure standing before him.

Ever so slowly, his vision started to clear. Once he blinked back the tears that had formed upon the onslaught of bright light, he was shocked to see that the figure had been Strange. Why would he be seeing the sorcerer now? 

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Stark." Strange offered a hand to help pull him up, and he followed, feeling unsteady once he was on his feet.

A stabilizing hand centred him at the small of his back and turned to see it belonged to a rugged and weary Steve. He had a bit of stubble growing which for some reason was a bit of a shock to Tony. He didn’t even think the man was capable of growing one - well, not really but it was still a bit weird seeing the always put together Steve looking anything but. 

"Steve, I - what?" He spoke, confusion laced his voice. What had happened? Why was he here? Hadn't he died with his final act as Ironman? 

He looked to Steve, his eyes searched his face for an answer. Instead he found Steve looking at him as if, as if - he couldn’t say, but the raw emotion reflecting in Steve’s eyes made Tony gasp and take a step back. His reaction caused a crestfallen Steve to step take a step forward, hesitantly reaching out. “Tony, I - ”

"Tony!" A shout was heard to the left of him and was his only warning before he found himself off his feet and engulfed in a bone crushing hug from Bruce - Hulk - BruceHulk?

"Easy there fella, I think your crushing bits of me that would prefer remaining uncrushed.” Tony wheezed out. He still wasn’t feeling quite aware, and the crushing hug hadn’t helped matters. Still, the happy enthusiasm on his friends face, brought a sense of familiarity back to him and he felt a slight smile form on his lips. 

Bruce put Tony down and gave him a sheepish look while he apologized.

A little less disoriented Tony then took a look around him, taking note of the scene.

He was shocked to see himself seated in the same position that Strange had just helped him up from. He took a step back to analyze the scene. All around him were the Avengers that he had fought with, surrounding a replica of himself in a slumped state. His comrades were all frozen, as if time had stopped for everyone except Tony and the ones who had rescued him. 

Confused, he looked back to Steve. The unspoken question must have shone through on his face, because Steve had started to speak.

"They're all fine, only suspended in time for the moment."

The answer, did nothing to stem away his confusion, and Steve must have realized this, as he hastily stepped forward, he rushed out another response. "Gosh, Tony, I - this must be all so confusing to you. I promise, I'll explain everything when we get back home."

Suddenly, he felt so overwhelmed by everything that was occurring. He felt a creeping sense of panic building up upon him. Please no, he didn't need this right now. He needed, he needed -

"Step back, Steve. Your crowding him."

A familiar voice broke through the oncoming panic. That voice... it was impossible - Tony turned his head, and felt the ground fall out from under him at the sight.

Nat was suddenly there, and helped him stay upright before he had crashed to the ground. Tony saw as she waved Steve off from assisting; which left Steve to just stand there in an awkward stance. Tony had the odd thought that he looked awfully like an adorably lost puppy. 

"I, Nat - what? You're -" Was all that Tony managed to get out, as he focused on Nat. She was here and alive, and he just couldn't think straight.

"Yes, Tony, it's me. Try not to get sappy on me now, we'll explain later. First, we need to get you back home." She nodded over at Strange then, and gave him some sort of indication that Tony was too tired to properly pay notice to. All he knew was that at one moment he was standing in the middle of a frozen battlefield, and in the next he was gone.

. . .

They had done it. They had rescued Nat and Tony! And it had all gone down without too much difficulty.

Despite Nat's whole debacle with the Soul stone, getting her back was a lot simpler than getting Tony back. Vormir was an isolated planet, so there wasn't much to affect timeline wise. Tony on the other hand, required more delicacy.

Extracting Tony had required exact timing and precision. They could have stopped time, brought him back to life and taken him back home, but that would have mysteriously left no body for the rest of them to mourn once they were gone.

After Nat had left with Tony, Strange had stayed behind to enforce the illusion that Tony was still there. Steve was just glad that he had left right after Tony, god knows he'd seen enough of his loved ones dead; he didn't need to see their replicas too.

Tony was sleeping. The trip back had been a little too much for him; he had promptly passed out upon their return. Steve freaked out of course, but Bruce had been there to reassure them; picking up Tony and looking him over enough to deem it was due to fatigue and residual power convergence from the stones. Whatever that meant. Steve just relieved that Tony would be fine after some rest. 

Steve watched as Tony's chest rose and fell, in and out, in the slow and steady rhythm that signaled a deep sleep.

So much had happened since the Avengers first met on the quinjet. Many ecstatic victories and heartbreaking losses. And at the centre of it all was their relationship. The dynamic between Tony and Steve had always shaped the team, and nothing had ever felt right since his departure. 

He looked to Tony then, eyes trailing over the sleeping man’s form. Steve’s heart broke at the fragile sight the man presented. Ever so tentatively, Steve reached out and grasped Tony’s hand, holding it in his own. He couldn’t erase the past, and he wouldn’t even if he could; it brought him here to this point in time where he now fully understood this man and how far he could go for the people he cared about.

He valued what he had been taught here. Now it was time to apply his learnings. 

The first course of action had to be to talk things over with Tony. Sure, they had put their differences aside over these past 5 years, but the past still lingered behind them, bitter and desolate.

This was his chance to do better. Ensure that this time they didn't leave anything unsaid: didn't brush things over, choosing to ignore the hurt between them that they still so clearly felt. He had done that once, thinking that it would be easier, _kinder_ to just move on. Only they didn’t move on, not really. 

Not a day went by where Steve didn’t think about their broken relationship. Maybe Tony would have still been around and not living in the middle of the woods, if he had gathered the courage to just go and talk to him. 

And Steve now knew that Tony hadn’t moved on either. The proof was in way Tony had looked at him when he finally had managed to pluck the courage to go visit him. It was in the way that Tony had ripped his heart out and given it to him after calling him out on not being there for him. It was in the way Tony had admitted he’d missed Steve, hiding his true feelings in the plain sight of his witty comments. 

If only they hadn’t left so much unresolved...

This time Steve wouldn't let so much time get wasted waiting. After everything, he finally truly knew himself and what it is he’d fought for. That really was no other place he'd rather be than here in this time; the chance for a new beginning with the man who saved them all and gave him a home.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants to request a fic they can can do so at my tumblr https://impossibly-cold-collector.tumblr.com/  
> Shoot me an ask! I'm always eager to listen to what ppl want!


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